President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has said that he does not believe that the withdrawal of Indian troops from the Maldives will weaken relations between the two countries.

Muizzu said this in an interview with Al Jazeera. This is his first interview with a foreign media after being elected as the President.

In the interview, Muizzu said that the withdrawal of Indian troops from Maldives will be one of his top priorities. He said he would continue the work in the first week of taking over the government.

Muizzu said he had discussed the matter in his first meeting with the Indian High Commissioner. The Indian Embassy will cooperate in this regard, he said.

When asked by an Al Jazeera journalist whether the withdrawal of Indian troops would disrupt Indian investments, Muizzu said he did not believe that the withdrawal of Indian troops would disrupt Indian investments in the country.

Instead, he hopes to receive investments in more sectors, he said, adding that India is likely to invest in sectors such as tourism. He said India's assistance in development projects has always been very positive.

"We (Maldives) and India have had a very close relationship for many years. We don't want that to change," Muizzu said.

Muizzu said about two-thirds of Maldivian debt is Indian loan. He said he did not want Maldives' economic debt to be so heavily tied to one country. Therefore, he discussed ways to repay the debt during his meeting with the Indian High Commissioner.

They discussed extending the loan term and waiving some loans, he said.